Dinos miss opportunity: Carbon unable to capitalize on half-time lead

Carbon's Miles Hunsaker grabs for a pass during Friday night's matchup against rival Emery High. The Spartans left their home field with a 36-25 Homecoming victory despite trailing the Dinos at the half.

Carbon High lost to Emery High in the third quarter of Friday night's football game.

Although hundreds of moments in any game can alter the outcome, the third quarter of the Region 8 matchup between the bitter rivals seemed to overwhelmingly be the turning point for Carbon High.

The Dinos entered halftime with a 19-16 lead, thanks in part to a five-yard Chris Hatch run and a 60-yard effort by Daniel Davis.

Ironically, it was former Carbon County resident Spencer Cook who caused all the havoc for the Dinos, rushing for 146 yards and four touchdowns.

Cook, who played for Carbon County schools until his freshman year, is now a senior at Emery playing fullback.

Cook's constant bombardment, coupled with Carbon mistakes and questionable calls, led to the Dinos undoing, according to Carbon head coach Lane Herrick.

"We had a couple of turnovers and bad breaks," he commented. "But we competed well. The kids played tough to the last minute."

Final score was 36-25. With any young team, finding a team leader can be a challenge. It has been especially difficult for Carbon as they have shifted through several quarterbacks during the 2004 season.

However, Herrick said he thinks the team has finally found the right man in sophomore Brandon Wilson.

Wilson had his first start against Emery and will likely be returning as quarterback for this week's homecoming game against Ogden.

"He's actually going to be one of the best quarterbacks around the state by the time he's a senior," indicated Herrick. "He's a good athlete and the team believes in him."

With the loss to Emery, Carbon drops to 0-7 on the season. The team is 0-3 in Region 8 play. Emery rises to 2-4 and is 1-1 in the region.

Herrick has better expectations for this week's matchup, though.

"My projection? I'll go out on a limb and say we're gonna win," he said.

Herrick said he expects a strong throwing game from Ogden, a game style Carbon hasn't seen much of this season.

"They throw the ball a bunch," he pointed out. "We'll have to be sharp on that part of our game.

The major Carbon High Homecoming festivities will begin tomorrow with the Powder Puff football game. Football players will take their turn on the sidelines, cheering on the toughest girls in their class.

The boys will return to uniform for Friday's game, which begins at 7 p.m.